Bhubaneswar: Months after launching the electronic Building Plan Approval System (e-BPAS) for online building plan approval, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has decided to resume its manual system till all the snags in the software are fixed. BDA has recently published a notification in this regard.
A source close to BDA said the decision came in the backdrop of failure of the e-BPAS software. “The software, which was developed by a private firm, had many bugs which created inconveniencies for the public,” the source pointed out, adding as a result only a few applications could be processed by the development authorities ever since the introduction of the online system. A private firm of New Delhi was entrusted with the task of developing and managing the e-BPAS software, the source added. Besides, a dedicated Citizen Service Centre was also put in place at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office near Samanta Vihar here. The arrangements were made in line with the Odisha Development Authority (Common Application Form) Rules 2016 notified by the Housing and Urban Development department in October 2016.
According to a real-estate expert, the offline process to get a building plan approved would be time consuming unlike the online process.
“By manual process, applicants will have to go through multiple agencies for obtaining no-objection certificates (NOCs). Only after that they can approach the development authorities for plan approval. The entire process would take several months,” the expert said, adding that the online system, which was planned to bring down the period to a month, had so far failed to yield desired results.
Notably, in a bid to ensure transparency and hassle-free processing of applications for approval of building plan and addition/alteration in the existing structures, the development authorities had ended the manual mode of accepting applications and introduced the online platform from August 1, 2017.
